Hawthorne council reorganizes; Frank Matthews elected council president as mayor outlines water projects and budget pressures

Hawthorne Borough Council held its 2026 reorganization meeting, swearing in newly elected members, approving a slate of routine resolutions and appointments and electing Frank Matthews council president and Michael (Mike) Sciarra vice president.

Mayor John Lane, who was sworn in earlier in the evening, used his annual address to review completed and ongoing infrastructure work and to flag budgetary pressures for the year ahead. "The cost of the PFAS system was $6,800,000," Lane said, and noted the borough has recovered much of that through settlements and financing: "We received $3,345,000 from 3M and DuPont and $1,000,000 in forgiveness from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank," remarks that the mayor said will keep the borough from having to pass higher water-rate hikes; an anticipated 9% increase for 2026, Lane said, has been…